CCTV Scandal: House of Reps probes $460million Abuja project amid rising insecurity
The House of Representatives today expressed concern over the worsening state of insecurity and recurring loss of lives in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), despite the installation of a $460 million closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance system designed to boost security operations.
This followed the adoption of an urgent motion sponsored by Hon. Amobi Godwin Ogah (FCE), representing Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency of Abia State, titled “Urgent Need to Investigate the Rising Insecurity and Loss of Several Lives in Abuja, the Federal Capital, Despite the CCTV Project Secured with a Chinese Loan of $460 million,” reports Daily Independent.
Moving the motion under matters of urgent public importance, Hon. Ogah voiced alarm that Abuja continues to record cases of violent attacks, kidnappings, and murders despite the huge public funds committed to the CCTV project intended to enhance real-time monitoring of criminal activities.
He reminded the House that the CCTV surveillance initiative was launched under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan as part of efforts to strengthen national security through technology-driven intelligence gathering.
Ogah explained that in 2010, the then Minister of Finance, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, led a federal government delegation to Beijing, China, where a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with ZTE Communications of China, which subsequently secured the contract to install CCTV cameras across key locations in the capital city.
According to him, the project was funded through a $460 million loan sourced from the China-EXIM Bank, as part of a $600 million soft credit facility, repayable over ten years following an initial ten-year moratorium.
The lawmaker lamented that more than a decade later, there is no visible evidence that the CCTV project is functional, even as Nigeria continues to service the debt. He described the development as both alarming and unacceptable, given the project’s original intent to curb insecurity in the nation’s capital.
“Nigeria continues to pay heavily for this loan obtained from a Chinese bank to execute a non-functional CCTV contract awarded, curiously, to a Chinese contractor. This leaves the country in a lose-lose situation,” Ogah lamented.
He further described the situation as a glaring case of failed accountability, stressing that Nigerians deserve a clear explanation on how such a large-scale investment could fail to deliver any measurable improvement in public safety.
Following deliberations on the motion, the House resolved to constitute an Ad-hoc Committee to undertake a comprehensive probe into the Abuja CCTV project.
The panel is to ascertain the status of the contract, investigate reasons for its failure, identify culpable parties, and recommend appropriate measures to ensure accountability.
The committee is also expected to evaluate Nigeria’s current repayment obligations on the loan and determine whether any components of the project were ever completed or put to use in accordance with the original agreement.
